--List of tables
--List of abbreviations
--Preface
--1 Administration between state and society in post-Napoleonic Europe 13
--1 The primacy of the state 13
--2 The organization of local administration 18
--3 Italy before Unification 22
--2 The prefects as mediators between state and society 30
--1 The historiography 30
--2 The prefects 33
--3 Administration in the field 39
--3 Control of local government: 'childish tutelage' and emancipation 45
--1 Introduction 45
--2 The appointment of mayors 50
--3 Political interference in the nomination of mayors 56
--4 Local elections 60
--5 Conclusion 71
--4 The dissolution of municipal councils: administration and politics 73
--1 Introduction 73
--2 The legal background 77
--3 The dissolution in practice 81
--4 Conclusion 96
--5 Control of municipal services: uniformity and tradition 98
--1 Introduction 98
--2 Meetings of the communal council 100
--3 Municipal services 103
--4 Prefectural checks 111
--5 Conclusion 116
--6 The checking of local finances: control and modernizing initiatives 120
--1 Introduction 120
--2 The significance of statistics on local finance 127
--3 The role of the provincial deputation 133
--4 The abortive start of the system of local finance 138
--5 The enduring crisis 149
--6 Conclusion 156
--7 Parliamentary elections between manipulation and the construction of a representative system 160
--1 Introduction 160
--2 Checks and balances in the government's electoral strategy 164
--3 The revision of the electoral rolls 170
--4 Political mobilization and control in the periphery 174
--5 Conclusion 183
--Conclusion 186
--Bibliography 193
--Appendix 206
--Index 222